Hospitality / Architecture / 2018
Aluminé Cabins
This project is the result of a careful balance of local constraints from a small village in the Patagonian region of Argentina: Aluminé.
Overview
The program consisted of a complex of eight cabins, an administration building, and a water reserve fed directly from a creek. This water reserve also served as the touristic sign marking the entrance of the place.
They all are lifted from the ground, due to thermal, functional, and construction reasons: better insulation with the ground both during winter (with heavy snow) and summer months, creating a garage space, and finally, easier leveling in a heavily sloped site.
The ventilated outer façade is built off of local materials while having important thermal insulation below for energetic efficiency in a region with very wide, extreme temperature ranges across seasons. Its shape is a result of solar studies very specific to the site - during the winter, it gets more direct sunlight in, either directly or through ceiling reflection, and during the summer it creates a less direct intake especially during mid-day hours where the heat is usually more intense.